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to wrap or not to wrap, that is the question

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ol smoky

ol smoky

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Dec 24, 2015
104
31
new jersey
so I put  a 5lb butt in my mes40 yesterday at 730pm. 13 hours later I'm at 171 I.T. smoker was set at 225 all night, confirmed with an ivations remote thermometer. I just bumped it up to 235. I have all day for this to finish, but worried about it getting dried out. What would you do if time WASNT an issue.

thanks

jeff
 
I always smoke butts in a pan on a lower rack with the trimmed fat on a rack above so it drips on the butt and bastes it. I think if I were you I would foil it with some liquid to keep it moist. The bark will be softer, but it will still be moist. Another option would be to put it in a pan and baste it until it gets to 205 IT.

Have a beer & think about it!

Al
 
hmmmm decisions, decisions. I just sprayed it with some apple juice. what's the record for longest time for getting a butt from 40-205?
 
22hours will  put me right at dinner time. I think i'm going to leave it unwrapped and spray every hour with apple juice. It's at 174 right now. so much for the 1.5-2hrs per pound! i'm glad I started it early, my original plan was to start it at midnight.
 
Butts are so marbled with fat there's not really any risk of drying them out. And although the fat dripping down on them to keep them moist sounds good in theory, meat is not a sponge and it does absorb the fat. The fat simply runs down of the meat and keeps a nice bark from forming. I'm sure there are several differing opinions on this but I gave mine.
 
SmokingEarL said:
Butts are so marbled with fat there's not really any risk of drying them out. And although the fat dripping down on them to keep them moist sounds good in theory, meat is not a sponge and it does absorb the fat. The fat simply runs down of the meat and keeps a nice bark from forming. I'm sure there are several differing opinions on this but I gave mine.
Click to expand...
how about spritzing with apple juice? more harm then good with bark formation?
 
The apple juice could actually add a bit of flavor, but I personally never spritz. I like to keep the smoker closed. It will definitely negatively affect the bark especially in a MES which are harder to get a nice bark anyways. The best advise is to take other people's advise and try things for yourself and decide which results you prefer.
 
Last edited:
I don't have an electric, but I always open all my vents and let the temp climb toward the end of the cook on butts. I also take the fat cap off in favor of bark and never wrap never had a dry one yet but there usually larger butts. Have you checked the smokers temp against a calibrated therm?
 
b-one said:
I don't have an electric, but I always open all my vents and let the temp climb toward the end of the cook on butts. I also take the fat cap off in favor of bark and never wrap never had a dry one yet but there usually larger butts. Have you checked the smokers temp against a calibrated therm?
Click to expand...
The smoker temp is confirmed with an ivations remote therm. both are in agreement within a few degrees. the two meat probes are pretty much in agreement too and those are confirmed with a thermapen, so i'm pretty confident the temps I see are the correct temps. I did remove the fat cap to get more bark. It's up to 185 now. Hopefully it keeps climbing till the end without any more stalls.
 
I don't wrap my shoulders when I smoke them. I also don't spritz or mop. Every time you open the smoker door to spritz or mop you are slowing down the cooking process. By allowing heat to escape from the smoker.

Every piece of meat cooks differently. So times will vary. Personally I have started smoking all my shoulders at higher pit temps. 285 is now my preferred temp. No stall, same quality product, saves fuel, and no more 20 hour smokes.
 
dirtsailor2003 said:
I don't wrap my shoulders when I smoke them. I also don't spritz or mop. Every time you open the smoker door to spritz or mop you are slowing down the cooking process. By allowing heat to escape from the smoker.

Every piece of meat cooks differently. So times will vary. Personally I have started smoking all my shoulders at higher pit temps. 285 is now my preferred temp. No stall, same quality product, saves fuel, and no more 20 hour smokes.
Click to expand...
next time I am going to try a higher temp. 18 hours later i'm at 192
 
i'm delirious from staring at the thermometer!
icon_eek.gif
194 right now, I'm pulling it at 200 and putting it in cooler for a couple hours. I will take pictures of the dried out shriveled up chunk of meat from cooking for 20 hours
roflmao.gif
 
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